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S. D. T U G K E R.

Printing Machine. l No. 241,168. Patented IVIay 10,1881.

Invervlor,

N. PETERS. FhowLithogrnpher, Washington, D. C.

(No Modl.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

S. D I U G K E R. 1

Printing Machine.

No. 241,168. Patented May 10,1881.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

S..D. TUCKER.

Printing Machine. No. 24H68. Patented May i0, 1881.

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5 ,Stefan/11. fader, M /(WM 1 NrTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN D. TUCKER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.Y

PRINTING-MACHlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 241,168, dated May 10,1881.

Application filed March 15, 1881.

T o all whom t may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN D. TUCKER, acitizen of the United States, residing in the city ot' New York, countyot' New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Printing Machines, fully described andrepresented in the following specifica-tion and the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part ofthe same.

This invention relates particularly to printing-machines havingreciprocating type-beds, and is especially directed to aid thetype-bedpropelling mechanism, not only to arrest the bed at the end ofeach stroke, but also to start it in the opposite direction by astructure known as an air-spring, and which consists of an air-cylinderin which a piston is reciprocated by the bed, and thereby caused tocompress a body of air in the cylinder, which operates to graduallyovercome the momentum of the bed, and finally arrest its movement, andthen aid in starting it in the opposite direction.

The invention more particularly relates to that class of suchair-springs in which the piston never leaves its cylinder, and alwaysmoves to the same extent into the cylinder in the operation ofcompressin g the air, but its outward movement is adjustable and itconsists in providin g said piston with a means for adjusting' itsoutward movement, so that the time it shall begin to compress the air,and the quantity ot' air to be compressed to form the spring, may beregulated with respect to the travel of the bed.

The invention also embraces a particular means for accomplishing thisresult.

It also includes a special construction and means of operating therelief-valves connected with the cylinders of such airsprings; and,iinally, embraces the various combination of parts.

An embodiment ot' these improvements is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which a printing-machine supplied with them is shown inFigure l by a side elevation, in Fig. 2 by an end elevation, in Fien?)by aplan view ot' its lower part, and in Fin'. 4 by a longitudinalsectional elevation, ofthe air-spring and parts co-operatin g therewith.Fig. 5 shows a side elevation of one of the air-cylinders, and Fig. 6 anend elevation of the same. Fig. 7

represents a plan, and Fig. S a sectional ele- (No model.)

vation, of the im proved packing, and Fig. 9 a sectional elevation ofthe piston supplied with such packing, and Fig. 10 an end elevation ofsaid piston, Fig.11, a modilied arrangement of some ot' the parts. Fig.12 illustrates bya seetional elevation, and Fig. 13 by a plan view, amodified arrangement ot' the parts.

The principal features of a printing-machine ofthe class to which thisinvention is applicable are an i mpression-cylinder, A, that is mountedto turn in suitable bearings and to co-operate with a reciprocatingtype-bed, B, upon which is secured the forni C. There are variousarrangements of mechanisms for causing the impression-cylinder A andtype-bed B to travel in unison during the printing operation, and toadmit of the return movement ot' said bed.

In structures of this class of press the niotions of its parts are allderived from a main driving-shaft, as E.

In most approved constructions the reciprocating bed B is driven fromthe shaft E by means ot' a vibrating shaft, G, that carries a pinion, F,which travels on the upper and under sides of a toothed rack, lt, havingend shoes or reversing-guides S, as is common; but this motion issometimes produced by other means.

Various constructions ot' gearing are in ilse for connecting thedriving-shaft with the cylluder-shaft D, as, for instance, atoothed-wheel on the shaft E may drive an intermediate Wheel, which willgear into a toothed-wheel on the shaft D of the cylinder, all of whichwill be well understood by those conversant with this art, and nofurther or more particular description of the class of printing-presseshaving reciprocatin g beds, to which these improvements are applicable,is necessary for a thorough understanding ot' the same.

At each end of the machine it is supplied with an air-cylinder, as 20,suitably fixed to the frame-work, in which cylinders a piston, 3, isarranged to reciprocate, said piston being connected by a pivoted rod,4, to a vibrating lever, 21, which lever is fulcrumedy at its foot by apivot hung in a block, 22, that is arranged to slide in suitable guidesin the frame-work, and is provided with a tapped screw, 33, by therotation ot' which said block may be moved to and from the air-cylinderto change the position of the fulcrum of said lever 21. rlhese levers 21are provided at their upper ends with branch arms 5 6,that form acurvedguideway, in which a stud or roller, 7 carried by the bed B enters, thiscurved guideway thus acting to cause the roller 7 to gently engage thearm 5 of the lever 21, and thus avoid a blow andthe consequent noise andjar in overcoming the inertia of the lever 21 and piston 3, which arethus gradually started and moved rearward, whereby the air in thecylinder is compressed and its resistance is gradually increased. Thearm G coacts with the arm 5 to form a perfect guideway, or one thatbears upon both sides of the stud or roll 7, and while this arm 6 is notessential, as will hereinafter appear, it is the preferable Inode ofinsuring the movement of the lever and piston toward the center of themachine, for the reason that the stud 7, engaging said a-rm 6, causesthe lever 21 to be positively moved, and to carry with it the piston 3.rlhis lever21is provided with a spring, 23, sea-ted upon the block 22,and pressing against the upper end of the lever 21, the power of whichspring is exerted to move said lever inward or toward the center of themachine, and retain it there while the lever is not in contact with thebed, the extent of this movement of it being determined by an arm, 10,carried by the lever that engages a stop, 11, project ing from the block22.

If, from leakage or any other cause, the compressed air should not pressthe piston and lever outward, the action of the roller 7 on the brancharm G will, as the bed reccdes, draw it out until the arm 10 011 thelever strikes against the stop 11 on the block 22, and the lever will beretained in this position while the bed continues its travel by aspring, 23, and if this spring` should be made suiiiciently strong itmight serve to press the lever outward, instead of its heilig drawn outby the action of the roller 7 011 the branch arm 6; but I prefer the useof the branch arm for the above purpose. Any accidental or improvidentmoving ofthe lever 21 rearward is thus prevented, and the said lever isrestored and held in a p roper inward position to present its end incorrect relation to the bed to be engaged and moved by the stud or roll7.

As the lever 21 carries an arm, 10, which always strikes against a stop,11, on the block 22, it is apparent that the forward throw ot' thislever would always be the same if its fulcrum were a fixed one. Thepiston 3, which is necessarily moved into the cylinder to the sameextent by the positive movement of the typebed, would thus always moveoutward in the cylinder to the same degree, and consequently the body ofair contained in its chamber 1() would remain the same and be compressedto the same degree, so that, no matter what the speed and momentum ofthe bed might be, the resisting action of the air-spring would remainuniform but these presses are required to run at different speeds,according to the kind of work performed by them 5 and therefore, inorder to obtain the best results in the use of the air-springs as anarresting mechanism for their beds, it is req uisite that the resistanceor power of such airsprings shall be regulated to suit the speed andmomentum ofthe beds.

As before stated, the type-bed will always move the piston into thecylinder to the same point; but by operating the screw 33 the extent ofthe outward movement of the upper end of the leverl 21 may be adjustedso as to lessen or increase the outward movement ot' the pistonv 3 inits cylinder, and thus govern the size of the chamber 40, andconsequently the quantity of air that will be compressed therein by thercturn movement of said piston. Thus the quantity of air in the chamber,and which, whatever the quantity, will always be compressed into thesame space, may be regulated by simply shifting the fulcrum of the lever21, and according as the quantity of air in the chamber is more or lessso will the pressure at the end ofthe stroke ofthe piston be more orless.

rlhe valve 11, with which eacheylinder 20 is provided to control anair-orifiee in the chamber 40, at a point beyond that to which thepiston is thrown rearward in said cylinder, is an ordinary puppet-valve,and in order lhatit may be opened and held open when the press is not inoperation, so that the piston 3 may be free and the bed be readily movedoutward or inward to admit access to the form it carries, the machine isprovided with a means for operating said valves automatically in theoperation of moving the belt-shifter. To that end these puppet-valves 11are seated in a guide sleeve, 14, into which a lifting-rod, 15, isentered. Said rod 15 is connected by a rockarm, 17, with a longitudinalrock-shaft, 16, that is provided with a rock-arm, 1S, connected by arod, 19, with the lever 24, which operates the belt-shifter 25, saidbeltshifter being provided with a second lever, 26, for operating it,which lever is by a rod, 27, connected with the lever 24, this provisionbeing made so that the driving-belt maybe moved from either side ot themachine.

\Vhen the belt-shifter 25 is operated to move the driving-belt from thefast pulley 28 to the loose pulley 29, and thus stop the operation ofthe machine, it is apparent that the rods 15 will be lifted to engagethe stem of the valves 1l, and thus raise said valves to establisheommunication from the air-chambers 10 with the atmosphere through thepassages 32, and hence relieve thepiston from the pressure, and allowthe bed B to be readily moved outward and inward by the hand of theoperator without undue labor. Vhen the belt-shifter is moved to throwthe driving-belt upon the fast pulley these rods 15 will be lowered andpermit the said valves 11 to seat themselves, and thus close thechambers,so that during the further movement of the piston therein thevalves will confine the air so that it may be compressed to perform thefunctions of an air-spring. 1f, from leakage or any other cause, thereshould be an insufliciency of air in the cylinders, the bed wi draw thepistons out, and the valves will be lifted by atmospheric pressure, andair admitted until an equilibrium with the external air is cstablished.Thus these valves perform a double function-that of relief-valves whenthe machine is not in operation, and of inlet-valves while the machineis running.

Instead of the construction of lever 21 and spring 23, as heretoforedescribed, the block 22 may have an arm, as 45, reaching backward with aprojection at the end, and the spring 23, seated against thisprojection, will press the lever forward, as shown in Fig. ll.

The function performed by the curved arms 5 6, carried by the levers 2l,may be likewise accomplished by the moditied construction shown in Fig.l2, where the bed B is shown to be provided with the curved arms 5 and6, and the stud or roller 7 is formed at the end of the levers 21. Thisstructure, as is apparent, is the equivalent of that shown in theprincipal drawings, and quite within the scope of the invention.

Owing to the great pressure at which the air-sprin gs are worked, thepacking with which their pistons are supplied is subjected to greatwear, which often causes injurious leakage. This is true of the packingof all air-compressing devices. It has been common to pack such pistonswith an ordinary cup-packing, but practically this has been found to bedefective.

My improved form of packing (shown herein, but not claimed) consists inproviding the ordinary cup-packin g, as 49, Fig. 9, with abasket-spring, 50, whereby the continuous flange ofthe cup-packing 49 ispressed outwardly against the surface of the cylinder with a pressureregulated by a multiplicity of independent spring-arms. Thisbasket-spring 50 consists of a disk of suitable spring metal, having itsedge turned up to form a flange, which iiange is divided by removing anumber of parts, as 31, to provide a series of spring-arms, 30, eachcapable of movement independent of the other, which structure affords amultiplicity of springarnis adapted to bear at points very close to eachother upon the innersurt'ace of the flange 49 of the cup-packing, andthus to press said iiange 49 very snugly and evenly against thesurfaceof the cylinder, and to give elastically at any circumferentialpoint of the packing at any time during the reciprocatory movements ofthe piston.

The piston 3 is provided with a proper shape suited for the cup-packing49, and the same is held in place therein by means of the basketspring50 and arin'g, 60, all of which parts are secured to the piston by meansof the screws 61, that pass through holes in the ring, spring, andpacking, and enter tapped holes in the piston.

I do not broadly claim means for operating the valves of the cylinderswhich are connected with the belt-shipping apparatus.

What is claimed is- 1. Theco1nbination,with areciprocating bed, 6 5 thecylinder 20, the piston 3, and lever 2l, of a base-block, 22, in whichsaid lever is fnlcrumed, and means for adjusting said block to and fromthe center of the machine to regulate the throw of said piston, allsubstantially as described.

2. The combination ofthe bed B, cylinder 20, piston 3, lever 2l,base-block 22, and regulatin g-screw 33, substantially as described.

3. The combination,with the bed B, cylinder 20, and piston, as 3, movedin said cylinder by the reciprocation ofthe bed, of valves, as l1,liftin g-rods I 5, unattached to said valves, whereby the latter mayoperate independently of the rods, and means, substantially asdescribed, connecting said rods with the belt-shifter.

4. The combination, with the reciprocating bed, air-cylinders, andpistons, the latter reciprocated by the movement of the bed, but notwithdrawn from the cylinders, of valves, as 11, constructed to actautomatically as supply-valves, and provided with means for operatingthem as relief-valves, all substantially as described.

5. The combination ot' the reciprocating bed B, cylinders 20, levers 21,and pistons 3, snbstantiall y as described.

G. The combination, with the reciprocating bed B, cylinder 20, piston 3,and lever 21, of the curved arm 5, substantially as described.

7 The combination, with the .reciprocating bed B, cylinder 20, piston 3,and lever 21, ot' the spring 23, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the reciprocating bed B, of cylinder 20, piston3, lever 21, and curved arms and 6, substantially as described.

In testimony' whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

IDO

STEPHEN D. TUCKER. Witnesses:

GHAs W. CARPENTER, ERNEST VooRHrs.

